Why You DON'T Need a Designer Vulva to Feel Sexy

It's pretty much perfect as is.

Sure we might be envious of a certain celebrity's abs or legs but what about vulvas? According to a new Australian study, women are more likely to consider labiaplasty (cosmetic genital surgery) if they've had greater exposure to images of vulvas in the media—like in porn.

Researchers at Flinders University in South Australia surveyed 351 women between the ages of 18-69 and found that nearly one in five had some interest in undergoing labiaplasty. Women who had a greater exposure to images of female genitals through the media were more likely to be dissatisfied with their own appearance below the belt. Plus, 13 percent of the women had received negative comments from partners about the appearance of their genitals and 19 percent discussed genital appearance with friends. This new research will be presented at the Appearance Matters conference in Bristol, Australia this week.

So why are so many women unhappy with their vulvas? The trend could be influenced by representations of genitals in porn, many of which may have been surgically altered, says lead study author Gemma Sharp in a press release. (But let's all agree that picture perfect labia are just one more thing that's only true in porn.) In fact, a study from last year found that seeing post-labiaplasty photos can impact what women view as "normal" down there. But the truth is, there is a huge variation in what a "normal" vulva looks like—even if you typically only see one version in movies and porn. Essentially, you may have an unrealistic standard of genital beauty when, in fact, all vaginas are pretty fantastic.